FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -Mychal Ladd set career highs with 22 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday night as Fresno State cruised to an 81-63 nonconference victory over Houston Baptist.
Bryce Cartwright added 13 points and eight assists for Fresno State (9-12), which had five players score in double figures.
Gordon Watt scored a game-high 23 points - 21 of those in the second half - and grabbed 14 rebounds for Houston Baptist (2-19).
Fresno State led by as many as 28 points, enjoyed a 44-26 edge in points in the paint and outscored the Huskies 26-8 on fast breaks. The Bulldogs also shot 50.9 percent from the floor.
Baron Sauls and Andrew Puzyk added 13 points apiece for Houston Baptist. The Huskies are in their second season as a provisional Division I program.
Houston Baptist trimmed Fresno State's lead to 16 points with 5 minutes left but couldn't get any closer.
Cartwright scored 11 points in pacing the Bulldogs to a 46-22 halftime lead. Sylvester Seay and Paul George also reached double digits in the first half for Fresno State. Neither played extended minutes in the second half with the Bulldogs comfortably ahead.
With Fresno State already leading 33-14, Seay stole the ball from Watt at midcourt and drove for a dunk, forcing a Huskies timeout with 4:32 left.
Houston Baptist managed to stay close in the early minutes before a 10-2 Fresno State run put the Bulldogs ahead 20-10.
Fresno State shot 56.7 percent from the floor in the first half compared to 25.7 percent for the Huskies and enjoyed a 13-6 edge in assists.
